Mmmmm, 2011 has taken a strange twist: I’ve got a craving for Dub, Dubstep and odd electronica to boot. Investigations have begun because I am in no way qualified to talk about this stuff. I’ve had Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and King Tubby stuff in my record collection for what seems like an age. I guess that was hangover from listening to a lot of John Peel in the early to mid 90s. I’ve got no idea how you’d define dubstep or grime or a million other genre tags that leave me just a little confused.  So I started with a compilation: ’5 Years of Hyperdub’ which came out in 2009. Fairly randomly. It was highly recommended over at Norman Records. Late to the party, again, it seems. But this 32 song double CD is mesmerising. Is it Dubstep? I don’t know. But the twisted haunting sounds of Kode9, Burial and Flying Lotus are exactly what I was hoping to hear when I decided to delve into this sound. In the mid 90s I dallied with Trip Hop. I still love stuff like Tricky and Massive Attack to this day. I didn’t dig very deep then. But what I hear on ’5 Years of Hyperdub’ is kinda where I was hoping Trip Hop might lead. Big brooding soundscapes with more energy and less dope (although I doubt the less dope part is actually true!).

So yeah, this is the first step.

I’ve been trawling Facebook and Twitter for recommendations too.  So expect more in this investigations series in the near future. I’ve got the time. And now the inclination, too.